Fragile Forest
by Paradigm of Writing
Summary: Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi are defenders of the Lylat Forest created long ago. When a sorcerer comes in to 'destroy' the magical place they've grown up in, the two protectors must come to terms on how fragile their forest really is. (Prize for Smash King24)


**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with my first gift-fic from my contest: Fragile Forest. This is being rewarded to Smash King24 who managed to win 1st place in the Adult Division in my Comfort Zones Do Not Exist in Writing. His entry, The Duck Hunter, was absolutely amazing and invigorating in every which way possible. This idea is a little difficult because I normally don't write Fox and Falco but I'm going to try my hardest! I apologize if this is inept to my usual works, I've been working on this for quite a long time (well, eight days, but still). The little gist is that Fox and Falco are border guardians for a forest and a strange individual comes in to teach the forest a little lesson. The most important tidbit of this entire one-shot is that Fox and Falco have the characteristics of their animal counterparts, namely Falco can fly. Enjoy!**

* * *

"What time is it?" Fox groaned to himself, rubbing his eyes. The sunlight streaming in from his room was rather annoying to try and sleep through, no matter how hard he tried to resist nature's intervention.

"It's time for you to get up, that's what time it is," an unseen voice chuckled. "Rise and shine Fox! We've got the western border to monitor today, and you know Madame Rosalina will have our hide if her two top protectors don't do their job."

Fox smiled to himself as he recognized the voice of his fellow partner in crime, Falco Lombardi enter his ears. "Always appreciate the sarcasm Falco," he said, throwing off his covers. "Unlike you, sleep is a necessity. Without it, we can't function."

The avian laughed, his golden beak tilting up as his vocal cords bounced around Fox's wooden lodge. "Well, I'll see you at Headquarters. Rosalina mentioned something about an unwarranted visitor about thirty miles out from command, and whatever the thing is... it isn't friendly."

"Not friendly? What could that possibly be?" Fox asked, shouldering his signature cottonweed vest.

"Beats me man, but all I know is that we need to be debriefed by Rosalina before heading out to our assigned posts," Falco said. "I'll be sure to pick up an apple for you or something on the way over. Don't be late! She wants us there in ten minutes!" he called, racing out of the lodge and jumping off of the balcony, soaring into the azure sky.

"He knows I can't fly, yet he constantly does it anyways. Does he think I'll be able to somehow catch up to him?" Fox muttered to himself.

The vulpine stepped out of his lodge to be met with the grand center of Lylat Forest. Fox sighed, letting the cheerful drafts of wind race through his body, filling him with the scents of leaves and maple leaf syrup. Lylat Forest was created fifty thousand years ago, at the dawn of time by a sentient being the denizens had never come in contact with. His wooden lodge was one of thousands, perhaps even millions of structures hidden beneath the glittering emerald cloud of oak tree leaves from above, a canopy that has kept one of the most thriving kingdoms of magic secret for as long as anyone could remember.

As Fox ran down his winding staircase of tree bark and jewels to reach ground level, his mind raced through the possibilities of the threat Falco mentioned to him. " _Rosalina has only been the head of the forest for about thirty years, she doesn't have the full extended knowledge Falco and I have of the outside world. We haven't gone to war since the time Lucario was head guardian which was almost three hundred years ago. Those warlocks sure gave us a hard time over the border, but the remnants of their species is broken and scattered over the land. If it isn't them, then who could it be_?"

Fox had been so immersed in his own thoughts that he hadn't realized he had walked straight into command, and was standing in the middle of the room with Falco and Rosalina looking at him which a mystified awe. Falco cleared his throat. "Err... Fox? Are you just going to stand there or are we actually going to get down to business here?"

The vulpine shook his head once, to try and clear his mind from conflicting thoughts. "My apologies, my apologies Madame Rosalina."

Rosalina Neverdiern didn't bat an eye. Her golden hair hung loosely down the small of her back, a pallid complexion highlighted by the dabbles of rainbow dust around her cheeks. Her dress of woven blue violets and diamonds snapped in the wake of the syrupy wind. Fox had no idea how old she was, for once someone becomes immortal, age doesn't matter anymore. Her wand sat where her head seat was, an ivory stick with a star at the tip, her magical weapon handed to her from Lucario himself radiating the same power that came from her soul. Among the leaders Lylat Forest had, she truly was the most powerful.

Falco sat down next to his partner. "I believe she is ready to debrief us."

"Indeed I am," Rosalina quipped quietly, pacing back and forth in front of the table. "Lylat Forest has existed for millions of years, created by the same deity that started our universe. However, when Lylat was birthed, it wasn't the only thing brought into existence. We've had encounters with the Warlock race before Lucario brought them down during the grand war of _Accendo._ In the recent years, we've discovered that something called humans exist alongside us in a rather... interesting case of balance. However, as these so called humans continue to explore their world, they come into contact with us and destroy with us powers we've never seen before."

"Such as?" Fox asked, leaning forward.

Rosalina's steely cyan eyes flashed in anger. "The humans call them guns, metallic weapons that fire little beads of steel called bullets. They are very harmful to us, and these weapons seem to be in an endless supply to our attackers. Just recently, about four days ago the northern flank came into contact with these humans. The entire squadron was dead by the afternoon. Sources tell me that the humans found us as hostile and eliminated them."

"Hostile? That's absurd," Falco cried. "We were put on Earth by our creator to be the wardens of magic and to protect nature. Humans have the wrong idea!"

"Perhaps we have the wrong idea of humans." Fox muttered.

"And what do you mean by that?" Rosalina glared, hating that she was being juxtaposed.

"What do we know of humans? Aren't you part human yourself as it? I've seen them before, and you resemble their characteristics." Fox elaborated.

Rosalina stiffened. "That is not important right now Lieutenant McCloud. What is important however is that it seems the humans are sending a messenger over to the western flank of Lylat. The behavior observed by this other race is cause for concern, and I am not about to jeopardize this society to another race that believes they are above us. It's been a rule that this forest is not allowed to be revealed to anyone, no other vigilant from a different species than the Lylats may lay their eyes upon the Tree of Magic for the punishment of that is death! Today, as you two are my best warriors, must keep this... scout away from the main area as possible. Exterminate if needed."

"Exterminate? You would want us to kill the human?" Fox cried.

Rosalina sniffed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures Lieutenant. If you cannot perform your duties, I may just replace you or have Mr. Lombardi pertain his role by his lonesome self. Clearly that disturbs both of you, so I suggest you do as you are asked. I will not ask again. Adjourned council, I need you at your posts before the sun hits high noon."

"Yes ma'am." Falco nodded, jumping up.

"However, I want Fox to stay behind, just for a moment." Rosalina added.

Fox froze. "What for?"

"I fully believe you know exactly what I want to talk to you about." the leader of Lylat said sharply.

Falco teetered on his heels. "Well, have fun with that Foxy. Whenever you're done, just stop by. If we're dead at the point you come by, oh well!" And leaving, just like he did earlier, the bird guardian flew from the room, causing Fox to be alone with the most intimidating person in the entire forest.

"I apologize if I said anything rude to you, never was my intent." Fox babbled quickly, clutching the sides of his oak chair in anticipation of some sort of attack.

The way Rosalina was holding her magic wand made beads of sweat trickle down Fox's snout. "You're assumption of me being half human is correct. As you know, our beings are called Lylats, guardians of magic and nature created by the same deity who made this entire forest and the rest of the world around us. Sometimes, in history, species like to _crossbreed_ if you will. That's what my parents did. My Lylat mother and human father intermingled per say and I am a half human/Lylat hybrid in a way. My mother broke the upmost important rule ever laid into stone for our society, that no other person who did not have Lylat blood could lay eyes upon the very tree we are in right now, as it is the source of our power and all the life we have held onto for thousands even millions of years. Should the tree be destroyed, our entire race goes with it."

Fox swallowed. His throat was dry. "So how come you were able to live here and not be cast out?"

Rosalina chuckled to herself. "I am half Lylat you know, so I have the same skillset you do for battle and strategy. Humans are... gifted in other ways that we cannot possess. You combine the two skills acquired and you have one deadly individual. That is what I am, a mix of magic and mortal. The Lylat side of me is stronger, thus making me immortal. I however, still deal with the traits humans do, such as sickness, depression, lust, gluttony, anger and other travesties that hinder me. Lucario witnessed my strength and before he was killed by the Warlock king, I was put in the regime to become the next warden and protector of this forest. My abilities pushed me above the other candidates which resulted in me having the crown and title. I, whenever my reign must end have to pick my successors so they can undergo the same training I have. Should you do well, I may consider adding you to that list of potential."

A beacon of hope lit under Fox's heart. A grin that he had never believed he could make sprouted from his face. "I'd be honored Madame. Honored indeed."

Rosalina smiled, but it was only brief as she remembered the matter at hand. "Get going. I don't know what this new arrival may bring, but if it's anything like I know humans can produce, it won't be lovely."

Fox nodded. "Of course. Don't worry, Falco and I will have it under control."

"You better."

"We will. Don't worry." Fox assured his leader. He stood up from the table and pushed the chair in. Rosalina turned her back to him, having more pressing matters to attend to. The vulpine jogged out of command, met with the grandeur of Lylat in all it's glory. He paused, unsure of what the next few hours were going to entail. He shook his head, dismissing the negative thoughts from his mind. It was Lylat Forest. Nothing could ever go wrong.

* * *

"It's been pretty tame from what I can tell," Falco said, counting the number of arrows in his quiver before setting it down next to his bow. "I was so bored that for ten minutes I watched two squirrels chase each other. Squirrels is the best form of entertainment I have. I want to see what Rosalina was talking about, something to actually get the blood flowing and something that causes those painful adrenaline spikes. Actually make our life interesting, y'know?"

"Hear you loud and clear?" Fox replied, unsure of what his friend actually meant. He tightened the binoculars and zoomed the scope out to see farther into the gale of the wood.

"You're going to hurt your eyes if you look through those things any longer," Falco chided. "I'm telling you, that's why Lucario before he died starting going blind. All day, he'd look into this pair of binoculars that hurt his eyes from all the squinting."

"I feel like you're just going on and on about crazy stuff," the vulpine whispered. He wasn't going to lie, the position was rather uncomfortable. He was crouched low on a rickety wooden beam, shifting his heavy weight from one foot to the other. The sheath of his sword made the left side of his body uncomfortably heavy, causing every shift to exert just a little more force. "Whatever it is, it'll show up sooner or later."

"It? That sounds rather demeaning doesn't it?" Falco echoed.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Whatever," Then he paused, recoiling from the binoculars. "What the? Hey! The binoculars stopped working!"

"Out of batteries?" Falco joked.

"No, I'm serious," Fox complained. "They won't work. Look in them, all you see is black. The shifters don't work to change lenses either."

Falco grabbed the binoculars out of his friend's grasp and pressed them to his eyes momentarily before lowering them slowly. "That is rather odd. Mechanical malfunction?"

"They run on magic, idiot," Fox said, grabbing the pair back. "Someone's interfering with the border. Come on, let's go out and check!"

"Fox, wait-" Falco started, but it was to no avail. The vulpine had already unsheathed his golden sword _Krystal_ and had jumped from the beam to the canopy below. The avian sighed, and slung the quiver over his shoulder. Holding his bow in his right wing, Falco took off running and somersaulted to the ground, landing softly and gracefully next to Fox's tense form. "You see anything out there?"

Fox shook his head in dissent. "Nothing. It's rather weird."

Falco scanned the perimeter, his eyes were much sharper than Fox's after all due to being a bird. "Erm... Fox? When did this fog roll in?"

"Fog?"

"Umm, yeah, look at five o'clock."

Fox shifted his vision and saw what his friend was alerting him to. A wave of fuchsia was slowly creeping through the underbrush and washing over the tops of trees and plants. Little critters such as Lylat's rats and birds tried running or flying away from the onrushing tide of pink but were swallowed by a cherry cloud. The two warriors tensed, the wall was moving faster and faster as it approached the border. A breath hitched in Fox's throat as the cloud passed between them. Immediately, their muscles relaxed and the two felt oddly calm.

"What is this devilish stuff?" Fox asked in bewilderment.

"I don't know, but it feels good." Falco cooed, ruffling his feathers.

As soon as the fog appeared, it disappeared, leaving the section of the forest as unhinged as it was before it rolled in. However, instead of a wall of fog bearing down on the duo, there was a singular form about half a mile down the wood. Lonely and formidable, the figure stood stock still. Trembling slightly, Falco drew an arrow. Fox looked at his friend as if he belonged in an insane asylum.

"Are you crazy? What are you trying to do? Kill it?" Fox babbled in anger.

Falco shrugged. "You've got a better option?" He fired the arrow. A sonic boom rippled from the bow as it's projectile went hurling down the path. The lone embodiment down the lane looked up, alerted to the arrow's presence. A bright burst of light emitted from the stranger and to Fox's surprise, the arrow came flying back to the duo.

"Hit the deck!" he ordered.

The two flattened themselves to the ground as the arrow soared over their heads and stuck into a nearby tree; to their surprise the arrow melted in a stream of blue hearts that dissipated into thin air. Fox took his battle stance, brandishing his sword across his sternum. He took a step forward, but Falco held out a wing.

"Look." Falco urged, moving his other wing to alert Fox to the change.

Fox furrowed his eyebrows. The stranger was now petting a rabbit, the furry animal actually seeming to enjoy the company of the new arrival. The bunny went scurrying back into the green, and the figure stood. A wave of water went flying into the air, causing Fox and Falco to jump for cover. Where each water droplet landed, a flower bloomed. A vast array of colors spotted the ground; waves of cardinal, navy, sunburst, olive, and amaranthine flowers arranged themselves in the formation of a heart.

"It's a sorcerer! This person is practicing witchcraft! Falco, we mustn't let this fool get any closer to Lylat, or surely it'll be destroyed by this... magic clearly not of our own kind." Fox commanded.

Falco nodded feverishly. "Heard you loud and clear. Want to do maneuver A or maneuver B?"

"Maneuver B. I feel that if we attack from two sides, the person won't be able to do fend off both attacks."

The duo split, Fox taking the scenic route of walking straight down the lane, _Krystal_ in tow, the dip digging into the dirt and drawing a line marking his route. Falco took to the trees, an occasional blur of cerulean or crimson feathers flickered by Fox's vision in the mass of emerald leaves. The stranger was still tending to the animals, petting them or making flowery hearts appear out of thin air. " _It's disgusting._ " Fox thought to himself.

He raised his sword in the air, channeling the feel of the air and ground. A surge of power flowed through his body, his silhouette exploding in gold fire. A cawing sound came from a nearby oak tree, signifying Falco was consumed by the spirits of nature as well. Fox held his sword upwards by his ear, the sharp edge pointing forward. He ran forward, a battle cry that shook the rocks bellowing out of his throat. Falco leaped from the trees, his firing hand releasing the bow string. In a snapping wake, the stranger snapped their hand in an arc, a wave of purple aura flowing out in a circle around them. Fox leaped over the ring and slashed downwards with his sword, the sorcerer darting to the left. As Falco came down upon the intruder, his left wing was grabbed and he was slung over to the ground.

" _Consisto._ " the sorcerer cried, a stream of flowers covering Falco in a makeshift prison.

"Let me out of here you wicked human!" Falco cried in anguish.

Fox frowned. The voice sounded female, something he hadn't anticipated. He shook his head. That didn't matter to him at the moment. What did matter was how his home for hundreds of years was in jeopardy. He charged again, leaping up to bring his sword down in a flurry of blows. The female sorcerer held out her hand, and Fox froze in mid-air. His smug grin turned to one of sheer surprise as he was flung to the ground.

He tried getting back up, but the landing knocked the wind out of him.

"STOP!" the woman cried, holding her hands out to keep Fox in place. Falco tore from his flower jail cell, his bow still drawn.

"Why should I?" Falco challenged.

"I'm not evil." the woman insisted. It was then and there did Fox realize something. It was the first time he had gotten a look at the attacker. The wand strangely looked familiar, as the voice. A black cloak was thrown over the stranger's head, so he couldn't see her face, but he could still hear her speak. Her voice held a strange sense of power, and humans we're known as Rosalina had said earlier to use weapons of metal, not magic Why did the voice sounded so familiar? He gasped.

"You're not-"

The woman nodded. "As a matter of fact I am."

Falco paused. "Fox, what is she talking about?"

The woman lowered the black cape and the two guardians were met with the face of their beloved leader, Rosalina Neverdiern.

"Rosalina?" Fox asked, stupefied.

The essential queen of Lylat smiled sheepishly. "Hello."

"I- I don't understand this." Falco stuttered, lowering his bow.

"The mission was a simple test. All set up to make you believe that our borders were really under attack." Rosalina explained.

"Then what was this fight for? Why have the need to lie?" Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It was a training mission, to see what you would do should any enemy allies we'd face have magic in their arsenal. Something as simple as my flower spell caused my two greatest warriors to be incapacitated for a few seconds and in the heart of battle... that can't happen."

"Then what of the attack on the squadron a couple of days ago? Was that fake too?" Fox was shouting at that point.

Rosalina nodded slowly. "Yes. It was a lie created to heighten the tension of our warriors set under the test. Humans do indeed exist, but none of have ever tried even getting near our world. They know of it, but still do not have the extensive capabilities to even breach or siege the outer rim of Lylat. The moment a hostile would ever cross a footstep over the river line, and our nature spirits would destroy them. Our natural reserve that fought when Lucario was protector have all either died, or given up on fighting. Our new army, although as talented as it may be do not know of the powers magic can harness should an enemy approach us with it ever again."

Falco felt weak in the knees. "I don't appreciate being lied to."

"Neither do I." Fox chorused.

Rosalina smiled. "But I feel that you will appreciate this much more. Every duo we've given this task to has failed, and by failing I mean they tried defeating me single handedly without any strategy or teamwork involved and in extreme cases, got terrified by the power I used and ran away back into the inner forest. However, you two actually attempted to beat me, strived to take me down with teamwork. It was a nice usage of maneuver B, for no one has even thought of flanking. I bid you an excellent job well done."

A grin broke out on Fox's face. "Well, then Madame, what is our reward?"

Rosalina didn't bat an eye. "One I think you'll find fitting. I already mentioned to you that we have a process of picking the next warden to guard and rule Lylat Forest when my time comes to resign... or should I die," she explained. The way she said the last four words of her sentence caused Falco to tense. "The council agreed that whomever could succeed at least making the strongest attempt of conquering my sorcery would become the next wardens of Lylat."

The two animals looked at each other and broke into a fit of laughter. "Are you saying-" Falco tried speaking in between his stupor.

"Yes. Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, once I give up my crown at the helm of Lylat, you two shall rule this forest and all of it's inhabitants for as long as your reign shall last." Rosalina finished.

A unmanly squeal ripped itself from Fox's throat, causing nearby pigeons in the trees to fly away. "That's unbelievably awesome!"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go inform the council of this ground-breaking moment in Lylat history. Congratulations Lieutenants, this was well earned." Rosalina said. With a wave of her wand, she disappeared into a void of bubbles.

Fox and Falco were left in stunned silence, only the chatter of crickets to accompany them. The two looked each other in the eyes, and hugged each other with immense fervor. "This is the best day of my life!" Falco screamed happily, the manly pair of animals turning into a complete and total joke by a moment of glee, but no one watching could ever blame them.

Fox slung a paw over Falco's shoulder, and the two friends started walking in perfect harmony. "I guess Rosalina's lesson did indeed tell us one thing."

"And what's that?"

"How fragile the defenders of our forest really are. This is Lylat Forest and it's fragile." Fox said.

"What do you mean?"

Fox sighed. He hated giving answers like the one he was about to say, but it helped leave the interpretation up to whomever heard it. "Whatever you want it to mean. It's our home, and it's fragile."

* * *

 **Well, there we go! I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot, and I know it doesn't necessarily compare to some of my other works such as Fading and Darling as of recent, but I tried my hardest to come up with something that just ended on a good note. I haven't really written Fox and Falco too much, so I hope I didn't completely tarnish their reputations. To Smash King24, I really hope this made up for all the hype I tried turning it out to be, and sorry for that awful twist ending. Thanks for your contributions to the archive, and if I ever start a new contest, I hope to see you in it.**

 **~ Paradigm**


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